Automatic pistol.



J. H. WESSON.

AUTOMATIC PISTOL.

APPLlcAioN FlLEn Nov.2|.191s.

1,290,855. -Y Patented .13.17.1919.

i OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. WESSON, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SMITH & WESSON, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION.

AUTOMATIC PISTOL.

Leonesa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. "2', 1919.

Application led November 21, 1916. Serial No. 132,509.

f To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. Wesson, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new .and useful Improvements lin Automatic Pistols, of which the following is a specificati-on.

This invention relates to automatic pistols or other firearms of the blow-back type, that is to say, those in which the breech block is forced back by the reaction of the charge in firing, thereby compressing a spring which forces the breech block forward to introduce a new cartridge into the barrel.

The present invention provides certain improvements in automatic firearms of this general type, wherein the breech block is in the form of a bolt, sliding within the frame. rl`he frame of the arm is divided in a longitudinal, vertical, central plane into like halves which are readily separated to get access to the interior parts, the barrel, guard, bolt and lock mechanism being let into recesses which are formed in the respective sides or halves of the frame. rllhe trigger mechanism is also of novel construction, as

will be set forth.

Fig. Gis a fragmentary, vertical longitudinal section showing the iringi pin retracted and held by the scar;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross-section on the line 7--7 in Fig. 4; L

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on the line 8-8 in Fig. 6.

In the drawings, A isthe frame of the arm as a whole, this frame comprising the breech case and the stock, as is common in automatic pistols. a vertical plane, forming a joint a (Fig. 2), into two sides or halves A1. A2, which are fastened together by screws b, b beneath the breech case, and by a dovetailed slide c above the breech case,the latter being best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, it being partly broken out in Fig. 3. This dovetailed slide engages The frame is divided in` ribs d, d formed on the top of the sides A1, A2, these having inclined side faces to fit the dovetailed groove in the slide. The slide may be forced on from either front or rear, and when in place affords aV compact and sightly union between the upper edges of the two halves or sides. The rear sight e is formed on this dovetailed slide.

The respective halves'of the frame A are swelled into cylindrical or tubular form above, as shown at B, this portion consti`- tuting the breech case and the barrel holder! The barrel C is seated deeply and xedly in.

receiving the forward part of the bolt E,

the front end of which constitutes the breech block 7L, which, in the loaded position, as shown in Fig. 4, slightly enters and closes the rear end of the barrel. The bolt has a -ange E1 which moves in the portion D*L of the bore, this latter being the portion of the larger diameter. Back of the flange lil1 the bolt is shown as having the same diame ter as the portion forward of it, so that between this and the walls of the bore or recess is left an annular chamber which receives a helical spring F for storing up power during the recoil or blow-back. to be utilized in forcing the bolt forward for reloading in the manner well understood. The bolt is hollow, and through it works the firing pin G, the rear end of which eX-4 tends out through the breech of the arm, Awhere it passes through a bushing H and has on its rear end a head i which, in the position shown in Fig. 4, stands just back .of the bushing. The bushing is shown as screw-threaded and screwed into the rear of the frame so as to close the rear portion of the socket D1 and form an abutment for the spring F. The firing pin G is bored through from its rear end for most of its length so as to form' an internal chamber for receiving a spring I for forcing the firl L l ing pin forward when released, in order that R, S that the sprlng serves both as a trlgger' its tip or spur t" may be projected through the breech blockv 71. to re the cartridge: The rear end of the spring .I abuts against a transverse pin J which passesthrough thef rear portion ofthe frame and through the bushing H, and through the firing pin G,

the latter being formed with a prolonged slot 7' in each side so that it may execute its longitudinal movements without interference by the pin. The pin J has the functions of formingl a rear abutment fqr the spring I, and of locking fastthe bushing I-I so that the latter cannot be turned and un- Y screwed. To disassemble the arm it is necessary to drive out this pin J.

The flange E1- of Ithe bolt is formed with lateral ears K, K which work through longitudinal slots L, L in the breech case portion of the frame, these slots being angular at one end so that at the instant of firing \the friction generated by the ears K in encountering the angular ends of the slots will afford la momentary resistance, which wlll afford a sli ht retardation so as to give time for the projectile to move a suitable distance through the barrel, or even beyond the muzzle, before the bolt is pushed back far enough to open the breech, whereby to avoidy an excessive blow-out of gases from the breech. This feature is not herein claimed.

. The bolt is formed on one side .with the usual groove 7c for receiving the stationary ejector pin (not shown), land on the other side with an extractor spring 7c of' usual construction. The breech case 'portion of the frame is formed with the usual ej-ec-ting opening Z (Fig. l).

The stock portion of the frame is formed,

as usual, with a vertical chamber M for re-` ceiving the magazine or cartridge clip, or for in any manner feeding cartridges to just beneath the bolt. The cartridges are thence fed by the bolt into the barrel in the wellknown manner.

- The trigger guard N is shown as formed in a separate piece which enters between the two halves of the frame to be held in place -therein by pins. The trigger O is mounted on a slide P which extends rearwardly and terminates inan upturned toe P1. The slide P is housed inv longitudinal grooves' m formed in the two halves of the frame and soconstructed that the slide may have a limited movement endwise. The middle portion' of the slide is widened and formed with an openingl sufliciently large to not obstruct the magazine chamber M, so as to permit the cartridges to freely feed up through it. The grooves m are extended forward and form a housing for confining a helical sprin Q which bears against the rear end of the s ide P' and pushes the trigger forward. The rear end of this spring abuts against a downwardly projecting arm @t on a sear lever spring and sear spring. The lever R is pivoted at p, and its sear arm extends thence rearwardly andupwardly, terminating inI the sear 1' which engages a notch fr in the underside of the firing pin G when the latter is retracted, as shown in Fig. 6. .The sear lever R has a forwardly extending arm g which is formed as a leaf spring and carries on its front en d a pin s which 1s beveled on its end, as shown in Fi 8. The upturned toe P1. on the trigger slide is beveled on its side, as shown in Fig. 8.

rI he trigger mechanism as thus constructed has the following movements: In the cocked position, as shown in Fig. 6, with the trigger forward, the toe P1 stands in clined rear upper face of this toe acts against the abrupt side of the pin s and lifts it, thus throwing up theA arm g andl rocking the sear lever, thus drawing down the sear and releasing the'iring pin, so that the pin instantly executes its forward firing movement, at the end of which, as shown in Fig. 4, the sear is still held in its released posltion, notwithstanding the stress of the spring Q, because of its contact with the underside of the firing in.` Instantly ,after the firing the bolt is t rown'back, carrying the` firing pin with it, until its notch reaches the posi-tion of the sear, whereupon the latter springs up, enters the notch, and again 6). Ordinarily this will occur before the marksman can release the trigger, so that the latter stands in the position shown in doti ted lines in Fig. 4. Beforethe arm can be again fired the trigger must be released and again pulled back. On the releasing movement as the slide P moves forward the toe P 1 displaces and passes to the front of the pln s. In this movement the beveled faces of the pin and toe (Fig. 8) come into play. The beveled side of the toeJ` yengages the beveled face of the pin and pushes the latter toward the right, this being permitted by the resiliency of the spring arm g. As this movement is completed the arm springs back to the left again, bringing the pin s into the plane of Iand behind the toe P1, as sho'w'n in Fig. 6. Thenv upon the next pull of thek trigger the operation is repeated. Because of this construction, which acts in the manner of a detent, the arm will fire `only one shot at a time, requirin that the trigger be released and againpuled yafter the reloadirg and cocking movement to fire another s ot.

To enable the bolt to be drawn back by hand the ears K, K are extended outwardly and formedwith knobs K1 which can be grasped by the operator.

To disassemble the weapon it is only nec- Idivided into two 'parts' on a longitudinal central vertical plane, said parts having at top inclined ribs and a dovetailed slide en.

gaging said ribs to Vfasten said parts together at top.

3. An automatic pistol having its frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, the barrel held xedly between said parts, the upper part of the frame formed as a breech case, and the lower part formed as a stock and having a bolt sliding in said breech case.

4. An automatic pistol having its frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, with the barrel held between said parts, the upper part of the frame formed as a breech case, and the lower part formed as a stock, with a magazine passage through said stock to the breech.

5. An automatic pistol of the sliding bolt type, comprising a frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, the upper part of the frame formed as a breech case, a sliding bolt movable in said breech case, a ring pin movable within the bolt, and a bushing, through which said firing pin passes, secured between the parts of the frame.

6. An automaticpistol of the sliding bolt.

type7 comprising a frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, the upper'part of the frame formed as a breech case, a sliding bolt movable in said breech case, a firing pin movable within the bolt, a spring for said iring pin inclosed within it, and a pin intersecting said firing pin and seated in the frame at the rear of said spring and serving as an abutment therefor.

7. An automatic pistol of the sliding bolt type, comprising a frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, the upper part of the frame formed `as a breech case,v a sliding bolt movable in said breech case, a ring pin movable within the bolt, and a bushing, through which said firing Ypin passes, secured between the parts of the frame, and a pin passing transversely through said frame and bushing.

8]. An automatic pistol of the sliding bolt type, comprising a frame divided into two parts on a longitudinal central vertical plane, the upper part of the frame formed as a breechoase, a sliding bolt movable in said breech case, a firing pin movable within the bolt, and a bushing, through which said iiring p in passes, secured between the parts of the frame, a spring within said firing pin and a pin passing transversely through said frame, bushing, and iiring pin, and receiving the reaction of said spring.

9. In a pistol, a Sear lever, a trigger, and a slide to which the trigger is connected, and a spring interposed between said slide and sear lever.

10. In a pistol, a sear movable in a normal plane, and a trigger adapted when pulled to so move the scar to Withdraw it, one of said parts having a portion movable in a direction transverse to such normal movement, and said parts having reciprocally inclined faces adapted on the release of the trigger to pass one another in returning to their original positions.l 1l. In a pistol, a scar movable in a normal plane and having a part movable transversely thereto, and a trigger adapted when pulled to engage and withdraw the Sear, and said parts having reciprocally inclined faces adapted on the release Vof the trigger to move said sear part transversely to restore the trigger and sear to their original positions.

12. In a pistol, a sear lever having a yielding arm formed with a projection, and a trigger having an inclined face adapted when the trigger is pulled to engage such projection and withdraw the sear, said parts having inclined faces adapted on the release of the trigger to iex said yielding arm and restore the parts to their original positions.

13. An automatic pistol having its frame v)divided into two parts with grooves in their meeting faces, a sear and trigger movable in such grooves, and an intervening spring confined in such groove and reacting against the Sear andA trigger.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH H. WESSON.

Witnesses:

Evnnn'r'r A. KINNEY, DAvin H. REDDIE. 

